Tuesday, 14 March 2017

Wear What You're Told

The Independent reported recently that Iran's morality police arrested and beat up a young 14-year-old girl for the crime of wearing 'ripped jeans' in public.

When some local authorities in France introduced a 'burkini' ban there were protests outside the French Embassy in London - 'Wear What You Want' was the protesters battle cry.But so far at least there are no signs of similar protests being held in response to the heavy handed 'Wear What You're Told' religious police in Iran.

The ripped jeans worn by a 14-year-old girl detained by morality police in Iran

A 14-year-old girl has been beaten and detained for wearing ripped jeans in Iran in the latest incident of police brutality against women and girls.

Zahra*, who The Independent is not identifying for fear she may suffer reprisals, was celebrating her birthday with friends last week when a patrol of “morality police” pulled up.

The teenager said officers tried to force her and her friends into their car in the city of Shiraz, beating them when they resisted.

Photos of injuries suffered by a 14-year-old girl at the hands of morality police in Iran

Bikinis and Burkinis

The Huffington Post reported on the story of a 23-year old Australian woman, Zeynab Alshelh, who traveled all the way from Australia to protest about the 'burkina ban' in France.In doing so Zeynab must have flown across a host of Islamic countries where conservative religious leaders (men with beards) lay down strict rules and dress codes instructing Muslim women on what they can and cannot wear.

In fact in some of these countries women would not be able to even visit the beach without the permission of a male relative, yet Zeynab's wrath is directed exclusively at France.Now I don't agree with the 'burkini ban' in France anymore than I agree with the 'bikini ban' in Saudi Arabia, but I find it interesting that some Muslims only wish to protest about human rights in western secular countries - while turning a blind eye to what's going on elsewhere in the Islamic world.

Zeynab Alshelh donned a blue burkini and walked onto a beach in southeastern France. The 23-year-old medical student had crossed 10,000 miles, flying with her family from her home in Sydney, Australia, to Europe, to reach the sands of Villeneuve-Loubet.

Her journey, she said, had been fueled by just one goal: to stand in solidarity with local Muslims after dozens of resorts in the French riviera banned the burkini, a kind of full-body swimsuit, earlier this summer.

The burkini ban in Villeneuve-Loubet was overruled in August by the country’s top administrative court. But that, as footage of Alshelh’s time in the resort town shows, did not stop beachgoers from chasing her away and threatening her with police action.

“I just wanted to see it for myself. I just wanted to see what is going on here,” Alshelh told Channel 7, an Australian TV network that filmed her experience on the French beach. “Why is this happening? I wanted to speak to the girls that have gone through all this stuff. Hopefully [there’s something] we can do to help these girls just live a normal life.”

France Is Not Alone (29/08/16)

If I had been in London yesterday, I would have gone along to support the 'wear what you want' (WWYW) protest outside the French Embassy.

Because for me it's an issue about freedom of expression and despite the terrible Islamist atrocities in France recently this is a time for cool heads - not demonising Muslims.But I have also been in touch with the organisers of the 'wear what you want' event to ask when and if they intend taking their protest to the Saudi and Iranian embassies - countries where women are unable to say, do or wear what they like, of course.

In the Islamic theocracyof Saudi Arabia a woman is not even allowed to go to the beach without a male escort, never mind wear what they like, yet women are permitted to operate vacuum cleaners and washing machines, but are prevented from driving a car or travelling on their own. So I hope the WWYW campaign is not just another anti-western leftist campaign because that would be very sad and terribly hypocritical to boot.Read the report below in The Guardian.

Demonstrators have staged an impromptu beach party complete with sand, deck chairs and a lobster-shaped lilo outside the French embassy in London to protest against burkini bans that have become law in many French coastal towns and cities.

Under the bemused gaze of the embassy’s armed police officers, some protesters sported burkinis – swimsuits that cover the wearer’s whole body, including her hair – or swimsuits, while others threw beach balls at the lunchtime protest.

Shortly after midday, a van pulled up and deposited several sacks of sand, to the consternation of police officers. The 40 or so protesters set up deck chairs and brandished placards among a scrum of journalists.

A number of readers have been in touch to ask where the 'We the Women' picture came from - to accompany the post about women drivers - dated 27 December 2011.

Well it comes from people campaigning in Saudi Arabia - against the ban on women driving cars and other motor vehicles - public or private.

According to the Saudi authorities it's against Islamic teaching that women should drive cars - never mind trains - it's against the law of the land.

Any women caught doing so - by the religious police - are liable to be severely punished.

But all hope is not lost - because people are fighting back - with courage, wit and humour.

By arguing that it's ridiculous and even anti-Islamic - to suggest that God somehow proclaimed that women can't drive.

'We the Women' is their campaign slogan.

And the campaigners think of all kinds of ways to illustrate how crazy it is - to ordain that women can use washing machines or mobile phone or computers - but not cars (or trains for that matter).

Some women have taken to dressing up in male clothes and wearing false moustaches - to ridicule the authorities - but as the law stand women still need a man to drive them around.

Apparently a father, brother, son - or just about any old male relative will do - which seems bizarre.

Now to look at the statistics on the number of women train drivers in this country - or the number of women members in Aslef - you'd be forgiven for thinking that God had made a similar proclamation in the UK.

But thankfully no one believes that kind of nonsense in this country.

So maybe 'We the Women' will catch on in the UK - maybe even deep in the bowels of the still male dominated parts of the UK trade union movement.

About Me

Mark is an independent consultant with a wide range of clients in the public, private and 'not for profit' sectors - both in the UK and Europe.
In a previous life, Mark spent 20 years as a senior trade union official - latterly as Unison's Head of Local Government and Chief Negotiator in Scotland. Contact Mark by e-mail at: markirvine@compuserve.com